The Road Not Taken
by Akiban Dakuman
Summary: A series of AU One-shots. Have you ever wondered how their lives would've been different if they weren't involved with the Mafia? #2 Yamamoto Takeshi: "And even though I regret, I also move on…"
1. Gokudera Hayato: The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  
>And sorry I could not travel both<br>And be one traveller, long I stood  
>And looked down one as far as I could<br>**-The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost**

Hayato stared at the clean streets of Japan. It was the first time he set foot on his mother's homeland, and it was all thanks to his foster parents – the kind people who took him in after he ran away from home.

And now, at the age of twenty-one, after having graduated from the University of Salerno as top of his batch, he finally earned enough money to go abroad and visit Japan.

He didn't know why his feet dragged him from the capital of Tokyo to a small town called Namimori, as if _something _was pulling him into the mysterious town. In a few minutes, he found himself sitting inside a small café, ordering a cup of coffee.

"You're not from here, are you?" a soft voice asked him. Hayato looked up and saw a young man with brown gravity-defying hair and mesmerizing brown eyes.

His senses were tingling, as if he knew that this man was dangerous. "Why the hell do you care?" he growled, trying to scare the man away.

The man merely chuckled and shook his head before placing a cup of coffee on the glass table. "My name's Sawada Tsunayoshi by the way, you can call me Tsuna," Hayato wondered if the man was an idiot- giving his full name to a stranger like him... "Enjoy your coffee!" he grinned at him before disappearing behind the kitchen doors.

Gokudera (he decided to keep his biological mother's last name, after confronting his foster parents) Hayato sighed, taking a sip from his coffee. He blinked twice, realising how the flavour of the drink lived up to his tastes.

The second time he met Sawada Tsunayoshi was when he went back to Salerno, Italy. He saw the brunette sitting on a park bench. Unlike in the café in Namimori, he was now wearing a pinstripe suit, thus making him look more respectable.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, a bit suspicious of the man.

"Ah! It's you! From the café back then!" Gokudera twitched when he heard how the _suspicious man _addressed him. "I don't know your name yet, so…" the man scratched his head sheepishly.

_'Did he read my mind or something?' _Gokudera wondered before setting his books down on the bench.

_"Arashi…" _the foreign word escaped Tsunayoshi's lips.

(Arashi = Storm)

"Excuse me?" the silver-ette looked at Tsunayoshi in confusion. What did he mean with _Arashi?_

The brunette shook his head, "It's nothing… I just… remembered something, 'is all."

"Decimo-sama!" a tall man with long seaweed green hair rushed towards the brunette. "I've searched _everywhere _for you! I thought… I thought I had failed as your right-hand!" he cried, not noticing the other presence that was there.

Tsunayoshi sweatdropped. "I'm fine, Nino-kun…"

Gokudera couldn't help but wonder about Sawada Tsunayoshi's identity. Being addressed as 'Decimo' and having a 'right-hand-man' reminded him of a boss from a mafia… but Tsunayoshi didn't look like one. He lacked height (he was short for his age). He lacked the aura. And he lacked the confidence.

"Who's the old man, Decimo-sama?" 'Nino' asked before protectively shielding his precious boss.

"He's just a… an _acquaintance_, Nino-kun." Tsunayoshi asked him to lower his guard. "He's of no danger."

Nino sniffed at him, "He smells like _that woman_, Decimo-sama…"

"Are you a dog? Sniffing people like that…" Gokudera couldn't help but ask. The man was getting on his nerves, for some reason.

"I don't care about your opinion, _old man," _the green haired man glared at the silverette.

Tsunayoshi coughed, noticing how heavy the atmosphere was.

"Ah! I'm sorry Decimo-sama!" Nino bowed at him, breaking contact with Gokudera. "I've signalled the baseball idiot to bring the car here. We can return back to base then."

Gokudera swore, if this 'Nino' was a hybrid dog, his tail would be wagging back and forth.

When a black Rolls Royce appeared by the fountain, Tsunayoshi stood up. "Well then, I'll see you another time, ne?"

"Gokudera Hayato…"

"Eh?" Tsunayoshi blinked twice.

"My name's Gokudera Hayato." The half-Italian told him.

Tsunayoshi smiled and nodded at him before he entered the black vehicle.

Nino, on the other hand, snorted at him. "Stay out of the Decimo's way would 'ya? He doesn't need another storm, especially with Bianchi around."

Gokudera froze as he heard _that _name.

_Bianchi._

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, shuddering when he remembered how his sister tried to 'poison' him with her un-edible food.

The third time their roads crossed with each other was when he spent a week in Venice (being a freelancer had its perks).

Sawada Tsunayoshi was with a weird suit-and-fedora-wearing-baby.

"Ah, Gokudera-san, nice meeting you here," the young man smiled at him once again, but this time, his smile lacked the same shine than before.

Gokudera merely nodded, not knowing how to address the child, standing on the brunette's shoulders.

_"You shouldn't associate with him, Dame-Tsuna… He'll just strain the relationship with the Grigio Famiglia," _the baby whispered.

Tsunayoshi sighed, "I know, Reborn…"

"You have ten minutes with him," the baby told him before jumping off his shoulders, walking away.

"Well then, care to join me for a walk, Gokudera-san?" he asked.

Gokudera didn't think twice with joining him for a walk. He felt like it was the last time he was going to meet this mysterious man.

In a matter of ten minutes, Tsunayoshi had told him everything. How he became the Vongola's tenth boss. How he had already met his half-sister. How he noticed the 'storm' flames from him, when they first met. He told him about the _Grigio Famiglia, _and how he knew about Gokudera's relationship with them_. _And how they were never going to meet again.

Tsunayoshi saw his Storm and Rain Guardians waiting for him. He knew it was time to return to his home.

"If… our roads had crossed paths earlier…," Gokudera started, "would we have become friends?"

Tsunayoshi smiled at him. "Maybe we would have."

And with that last meeting, Gokudera had never seen Tsunayoshi ever again. All he could do was wonder… wonder how different things would've been if he had chosen a different path. How different things would've been if he had met the Vongola Decimo earlier.

**Author's Note: **Yay! Finally, a plot bunny! So, if I may explain a few things… Gokudera ran away from home after finding out that his biological mother had died. He was found by a couple who took him in. He graduated from college with honors, and he became a freelancer… He did not have a specific job, he just did whatever job somebody offered him (after all, he _is _a genius).

"Nino" is an OC I made up. He's Tsuna's Storm Guardian (since Gokudera is out of the picture).

Hope that can explain a bit of the one-shot. ^w^. Until next time.


	2. Yamamoto Takeshi: Moving On

**Moving On**

My name is Yamamoto Takeshi. I was fourteen years old when I jumped off the roof of my school and ended my life. I was here for a moment. And, in an instant, I was gone. I ended my empty life, thinking I had no future.

Most of my "friends" mourned my death. I knew that they only cried because their baseball star of a classmate had died. I watched them as they spoke of how _brave _and _kind _I was. What else did I expect? They didn't know the _real _me. If they did, they would've noticed how I was hurting inside.

I watched the years go by: I watched them graduate; I watched them earn their high school diplomas, some vying for college; I watched them build a family in Namimori; I watched them leave; I watched them forget what happened with me.

Among my classmates, there was a special case…

There was this guy. I remember everyone call him _Dame-Tsuna _or something like that. He didn't stand out. Nobody noticed how he instantly vanished after the new Italian guy (Gokudera, was it?) appeared in the class.

Dame-Tsuna was weird. He, unlike the others, didn't try to stand out from the crowd. He lived an honest life – doing only what he wanted, and not vying for more. Maybe, just maybe, if I could've chosen a different path of life, maybe I would've chosen him as my friend.

Now that I think about it, he must be blaming himself for my death. I remember those warm brown eyes watching me fall… I remember a single voice calling my name, as if trying to stop me…I remember someone, trying to catch me as I fell… I remember, and I also forget… who?

Who was I remembering, again?

What was his name?

As if by magic, I am transported back to my father's restaurant – Takesushi. Years after my death, the business, as I noticed, wasn't going as well as it did back then.

_I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean t ruin everything…_

The bells chimed, signalling the entrance of a customer. I watched as a tuff of brown hair appeared from outside.

A familiar man wearing a black suit greeted my father.

"Good Morning, Yamamoto-san," the man greeted before taking a seat. "I would like to order the special again."

"It's been a while, Sawada-kun," my old man grinned at him. "Things are going well with your job, I presume?" he asked as he began cutting the meat of the fatty tuna.

"As fine as they can be," Sawada chuckled. "How about you, Yamamoto-san, how are you coping?"

My old man gave a sigh, "A lot has changed since Takeshi died, sad to say… Business went down, and I'm not growing any younger…I'm afraid I can't keep this place running back to what it used to be, especially without Takeshi and Ayumi."

Flashes of memories attacked me like a mob.

I remembered my mother, tucking me to bed when I was a child. I remember her stories, and how my father laughed at how gullible I was. I remember my mother being hit by a red car. I remember my father telling me to reach for my dreams…

_I didn't listen to him… _

I was back in Namimori Middle School, sitting on the ledge of the school roof.

"So, you're still here?" I looked behind and saw that Sawada guy. I did not answer. No one can speak to the dead, after all. "I am talking to you, Yamamoto-kun."

I gulped, before standing up and facing him, fully. _"How can you speak to me?" _I asked, confused.

"I can't," Sawada said with a sad smile, as if answering my question, "I just know that you're still not at peace with yourself." He sat down and placed a pink carnation in front of me. "Even though it's been ten years, you will never be forgotten, Yamamoto Takeshi."

I watched him walk away. And I closed my eyes… Maybe, it was already time to move on…

My name is Yamamoto Takeshi; I was fourteen years old when I died. I ended my life, not knowing of the multiple possibilities… And even though I regret, I also move on…

**Author's Note:  
><strong>Inspired by "The Lovely Bones."

I really want to buy the book, but I'll do that on a later date. The semester is almost over, and once the finals are done, I can finally get a start on the "Vongola: BAU" Don't get me wrong, I've already started on it, but I can't seem to make it more realistic… For now, here's a sign that I'm not dead, just busy. ^^

Did this in a rush. Didn't edit/proof-read. Please inform me of any mistakes. Thank You. And please review.


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